


librum a meo corde

by harmonichearts



Category: The 100 (TV), The 100 Series - Kass Morgan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bookstores, F/M, Fluff, Smut, author!Bellamy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-25 16:00:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14382078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harmonichearts/pseuds/harmonichearts
Summary: It’s basically the worst thing Clarke has ever experienced, going from seeing her best friend every day for practically her whole life to an entire year of only getting text messages, emails, and grainy Skype calls.It also doesn’t help much that absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder, and she’s nowhere near getting over being in love with him.“What the hell are you doing?”“I thought it was pretty obvious,” Clarke huffs, tucking the end of the sheet in between the cushions.  “I’m making up the couch so your brother has a place to sleep when he gets here.”Octavia huffs right back and rolls her eyes.  “Yeah, because he’s totally gonna sleep there.”





	librum a meo corde

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!! Here's the modern AU I mentioned working on. I started this back around Christmas, so that's why there's a slight mention of the holiday and the season.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy Author!Bellamy and BookstoreOwner!Clarke!

It's two days before Octavia and Lincoln’s Christmas wedding, and to say Clarke is excited would be the understatement of the year.Really, probably the century.While Clarke is really happy for her friends, and generally a big fan of weddings, it’s really someone else that’s got her feeling happier than she has in forever.

Bellamy is coming home.

Well, not for good.At least, not yet.But he’s coming home for the first time in a year, after completing the research and writing out in L.A. required for his second novel.She doesn’t really get why he had to go live in L.A. to write a dystopian, post apocalyptic novel set in a world of his own creation, but she’s also a bit of an artist, so she tries not to question his process too much.

The year apart has sucked.He’s been so busy writing and editing and rewriting, and she’s beenpretty occupied herself, running her quaint little bookstore with hardly any other staff, that neither has had the time to visit. 

It’s basically the worst thing Clarke has ever experienced, going from seeing her best friend every day for practically her whole life to an entire year of only getting text messages, emails, and grainy Skype calls.

It also doesn’t help much that absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder, and she’s nowhere near getting over being in love with him. 

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I thought it was pretty obvious,” Clarke huffs, tucking the end of the sheet in between the cushions.“I’m making up the couch so your brother has a place to sleep when he gets here.”

Octavia huffs right back and rolls her eyes.“Yeah, because he’s totally gonna sleep there.”

“Where else would he sleep?” Clarke asks.“I don't have a spare room, your place is covered in wedding crap, he’s not going to be here for long and I haven’t seen him in a year, so no way am I letting him stay in a hotel.”Octavia gives her a pointed look and Clarke feels her face flush.“Shut up,” she mumbles, picking a pillow up from the floor and giving it a generous fluff before tossing it onto the couch to join the sheets and blankets.

“You two are pathetic,” Octavia grumbles.“What time does his flight get in?”

“You’re his sister, shouldn’t you know these things?”

“I _should_ ,” Octavia says.“But I have wedding brain.Besides, he talks to you more than me.”

“It’s supposed to get in at 3:15, but the flight tracker says it’s gonna be a few minutes late.”

“So, you’re gonna get there at 2:00 then, yeah?”

“Obviously.”

“Jesus, why don’t you just tell him?”

Clarke groans, flopping down onto the couch.“Because I’m really fucking bad at this.”

Octavia snorts.“You can say that again.”Clarke just glares.“Okay, look, Finn and Lexa were both disasters, but that was more so them than you.Finn was a two-timing douche canoe, and Lexa wanted to control everything.But this is different okay, this is Bell, Clarke, and—”

“He’s my person,” she says.“For _everything,_ and I don’t want to mess that up.”

Octavia grabs her hand, squeezes.“That’s why you won’t mess it up.”

—-

She gets to the airport at 1:57 and paces up and down baggage claim for a good twenty minutes before a passing TSA agent gives her a dirty look.Her nerves are all over the place and they don’t get much better when she sits on a nearby bench, foot bobbing up and down relentlessly.

What if it’s different?

What if _they’re_ different?

They’ve never been apart this long in 17 years of friendship.Same middle school, same high school, fuck, they even chose the same college, so this really is… _weird_.

She’s almost worked herself into a full blown panic attack when her phone pings.

**Bellamy**

**3:21 PM**

**Just landed and on my way to you.Prepare yourself I smell like airplane.**

 

**Clarke**  
****

**3:22 PM**

**Mmm airplane.My favorite.**

**Just get here.I miss your face.**

 

**Bellamy**  
****

**3:23 PM**

**I’m basically running down the moving sidewalk.**

 

**Clarke**  
****

**3:23 PM**

**Run faster!!**

 

He doesn’t respond after that and Clarke can only assume that he is indeed running faster, because he’s Bellamy and just a dork like that.She gets up and inadvertently starts pacing again.Another two minutes pass, and then finally, _finally_ , she sees him.He’s wearing his glasses and her favorite flannel of his, and he’s truly a rumpled mess from sleeping on the plane.He’s so adorable it almost hurts to look at him. 

They lock eyes and a huge grin spreads across his face.She doesn’t even realize she’s moving until they collide, arms wrapping each other up into the fiercest of hugs.

There are no words.Not yet.They don’t need them.

Bellamy’s fingers are in her hair, stroking softly and she’s got her face pressed into his neck, just breathing in his warm, Bellamy smell.And yeah, maybe a little bit of the staleness that comes from being on a plane for five and a half hours, but honestly she could care less. 

“Are you crying?” he chuckles, and she realizes a few tears have tracked their way down her face.

“Shut up,” she mumbles, but she doesn’t push him away.She just tightens her grip, pulling him impossibly closer.

—-

They drop his stuff off at her apartment and then head over to The Book Drop.Clarke’s owned the store for about four years, buying it from Dante Wallace when he was ready to get out of the business.Her father had passed when she was nineteen, leaving behind a ridiculous trust of money for her, and The Book Drop had always felt like a second home to both Clarke and Bellamy while growing up.It had given each of them their first jobs, a quiet place to study after school, and a sense of purpose at a young age, so it had only felt right for Clarke to use part of her inheritance to keep the place running.

It’s been weird the past year, not having Bellamy there with her everyday.When he was writing his first book, he’d spend days there with Clarke from open til close manning the cafe’s espresso machine in the morning and writing in the afternoon.Not only did Clarke miss him desperately while he was gone, but she’s also a little sad she didn’t get to be part of his writing process again.

They walk through The Book Drop’s front door and Bellamy laughs.

“What?”

He points to the display in the center of the store, a big poster of his author picture staring back at him, surrounded by copies of _Wrath_ , his first book.“Really?” he asks.

Clarke huffs.“I’m proud of you, okay?”

“How big did you blow up that photo?”

“I don’t know, like 500 percent?Also, you’re signing a bunch of copies while you’re here.”

He laughs again.“Of course I am.”

“Hey,” she says excitedly.“Did you get advanced copies yet of the new book?Did you bring me one?Because you have seriously left me completely in the dark on this one, and I need to read it, Bell.I need to read it like, yesterday.”

His first book _Wrath_ had basically been a genderbent retelling of the Trojan War where Achilles was actually a super badass girl named Pyrrha who Clarke is pretty sure Bellamy based on his sister.He wrote day and night for almost two years, trying to get it just right before querying for an editor and a publisher, and Clarke had been there with him every step of the way, reading over his shoulder, acting as a beta reader, giving feedback on what she thought worked and what may have needed to be tweaked.

So it’s been really hard for her to not know _anything_ about this second book that basically took her best friend away from her for a year.He hasn’t even told her the title, only that it’s post apocalyptic and pretty different on all fronts from _Wrath_.

“It’s possible that I may have something for you to read,” he teases.

“Gimme!” She says, eyes alight and grabby hands reaching for him.

He laughs.“It’s not on me.But, later,” he promises.

There’s a commotion over in the cafe, followed by a string of curses.“Raven?” Clarke calls.“Everything okay?”

Raven is pretty much Clarke’s only other full time staff member.She manages the cafe, helps restock the shelves with new releases, and fixes any and everything that breaks.Clarke also gets a little part time help manning the front from Harper, and Monty is gracious enough to do their accounting in his spare time, but other than that her little store functions for the most part on just the two of them.

“Espresso machine is busted again,” Raven says, popping up behind the counter, wiping her hands on an old rag.

“Shit, seriously?”

“Don’t worry.I got smart last time and stocked up on a few spare parts.Should have it running again for open tomorrow morning.”

“Cool.Hey, Bellamy’s here.”

“Fucking finally,” Raven says, coming around the counter and giving Bellamy a quick hug.“She’s been going out of her mind all week.”

Bellamy laughs and Clarke flushes and she’s pretty sure he notices.

“Was it busy today?” Clarke asks.It’s a little after five, not long since they’ve closed for the day, and after taking the day off to finish prepping for Bellamy, she just wants to make sure everything went smooth in her absence.Harper had been scheduled to work the whole day with Raven, so she hopefully hadn’t been too overwhelmed.

“Other than the espresso machine, we were all good.Mostly regulars, so not too much craziness.”

Clarke nods.“Good.Let’s go over tomorrow then.We open at eight like normal, but close early, around two?That’s enough time to get ready for the rehearsal dinner and intercept any problems before Octavia even knows about them.”

“Sounds good,” Raven says.

“Do you need to help O with anything tomorrow?” Clarke asks, turning to Bellamy.

“I asked if she needed anything, but she said she’s got it covered, so I was planning on being here with you, maybe get a few more pages of copy edits done.”

Clarke smiles, warm and bright.She’s so glad he’s home.“Good.”

—-

They wait around while Raven finishes fixing the espresso machine and Clarke lets Bellamy explore the store a little and root around in the back.They’ve gotten a few new releases in that aren’t schedule for sale until the next week that he seems particularly interested in.Even being a bestselling author and getting a few advanced reader copies thrown his way, he doesn’t have access to every new book early, so it’s a treat to get to go through the latest stock with him.

They leave a little after seven, saying goodbye to Raven and heading back to Clarke’s apartment.They stop and get a pizza on the way, and Clarke cannot wait to sit on the couch with him while they stuff their faces and watch something on Netflix.

“Parks and Rec, or Brooklyn Nine-Nine?” she asks, collapsing onto the couch.Bellamy takes the seat next to her, and sighs, head lolling onto her shoulder and arm coming to rest across her middle. 

To most it would seem like they were a couple, and more often than not, people usually just assume they are.But really, they’ve just always been tactile friends.It comes with the territory of knowing someone from the age of ten.But, if Clarke had her way, they would totally be dating, and this kind of comfort between them would never raise any brows or create any awkward questions.

Her hand comes up to scrape at the nape of his neck and she swears he shivers a little.“Or, is there some documentary you’ve been dying to see, but have been too busy, and now that you’re on vacation for a few days you can finally devote some time to?”She feels his smile against the skin of her neck.

“Honestly I think I might pass out soon, so whatever you want is good with me,” he says, tipping his head up to look at her.

“Ok, how about this then.We eat, you sleep, and I read?” she asks, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Yeah, okay,” he chuckles.“Hold on.”Bellamy moves to get up and Clarke instantly misses his warmth.He’s going five feet across the room to his bag and already she hates the absence of him at her side.What the fuck is she gonna do in a few days when he flies back across the country?

But then he’s returning to her with a paperback book in his hand and Clarke’s eyes light up.He’s hesitant at first, holding it close for a minute and then handing it to her as he retakes his seat. 

And there it is. 

A black to gray gradient background with the words “Odyssey” _,_ and “Bellamy Blake” across the front.There’s a little blurb at the bottom as well about final cover art to come.She laughs softly, because of course.Of fucking course Bellamy would take a post apocalyptic novel and still find a way to add a little bit of greek mythology into it.

“Is it okay to title it Odyssey?I mean, there’s not like, a copyright issue?”

Bellamy laughs.“No, trust me I had that concern too, but my lawyer said it would be okay.”

“You’re such a dork,” she says, turning to the first page.

But Bellamy stops her.“Wait,” he says.“Just…wait til I fall asleep, okay?I’ll be a nervous wreck if I have to watch you read it. Well…more of a nervous wreck.”

“You’re nervous about _me_ reading it?Bellamy, I love everything you write.”

“I’m basically a mess, Clarke.So, yeah.If you could wait, that’d be awesome.”

“Okay,” she says, closing the cover and placing it on her coffee table.“I’ll wait.”

“Thank you.”

She nods, and they eat their pizza and get through two episodes of Parks and Rec before he practically falls asleep on her.They clean up a little and take turns in the bathroom, getting ready for bed.But then Bellamy heads back to the couch and Clarke heads to her room and they’re apart again, even if only for the night.

At least this time though, she has his new book to keep her company.

She climbs into bed and fluffs her pillow a little, getting truly comfortable, before opening the front flap once more.She’s totally ready to dive right into the story, but then the dedication page catches both her eye and her breath.

_For Clarke,_

_The only person I’d ever want to face the end of the world with._

She reads it once, twice, three times. 

Not his sister.

Not their entire friend group.

Her.

_Just_ her.

She flips the page to chapter one and starts reading.

—-

Clarke stays up reading all night, devouring the almost five hundred page novel, and she doesn’t stop until soft sunlight begins to rise up and drown out the night sky. 

It’s them.

He’s written _them_.

Their friendship, their partnership, their trust and love.

He’s disguised it in war, and tragedy, and metaphors, and characters named Liam and Olivia, but—

It’s her. 

And it’s Bellamy. 

And it’s _everything_.

She cries a few times, and her heart breaks, and her heart soars, and goddammit he is such a good writer.

If she could marry a book, it would be this one, but then she thinks that’s kind of ridiculous when she could just marry Bellamy instead, because maybe these words…maybe this _book_ , means he feels the same way.He makes them love interests for fucks sake.And that dedication…that dedication will be imprinted on her soul for life.

She hears him shuffling around in the living room and starts devising a plan.She can’t let him know just yet that she’s finished reading, because he’ll want her thoughts and she has a _lot._ So she gets out of bed and takes a quick shower and dresses for a day of work at the bookstore.

When she comes out, Bellamy’s in the kitchen making breakfast.He pauses, mid egg scramble to turn and look at her.“Hey, so, uh,” he clears his throat.“You read it?”

“Oh,” Clarke says.“Some.Like, two chapters.I guess I was more tired than I thought I was.I pretty much passed out after getting in bed.”

He seems to physically relax at her words.He really is a mess about this.Clarke kind of wishes she’d just told him she finished it because maybe they could be making out by now, but also she wants to tell him in a special way.His book is basically a love letter to her, the least she can do is give him something just as beautiful in return.And that takes a little thought, and maybe the really great dress she plans on wearing to the rehearsal dinner.Plus, he is extra adorable when he’s wrecked about something.

“I’m taking it with me to the store today, though.Maybe I can get through a little more while you’re doing final edits.”

“Yeah,” he says.“Yeah, that would be good.”

She hugs him, squeezing tight, burying her face in his chest, and she hopes she's not giving herself away, but, she just really needs to hug him.His arms come around her, just as tight, and they stand there like that for a good minute before Clarke pulls back.

“So, what’s for breakfast?”

—

Work is kind of a whirlwind.They get a rush of their regulars, coming in to get their coffee and newspapers.Some stick around to browse the shelves or do a little work in the tiny cafe.Others cozy up in one of the worn armchairs Clarke has placed sporadically around the shop.They get tourists too.It helps that word has spread Bellamy is back in town and most likely at the shop with Clarke.They get a lot of people coming in looking for him to sign their copies of _Wrath_.He’s basically a hometown hero, and it’s both weird and exciting to see him regarded as a local celebrity.

The craziness of the day makes it easy for Clarke to keep up the fib that she hasn’t read much of his book.She hardly has any downtime, and while she’d like to skim it a little more, reread some of her favorite parts, it’s probably best to not have a full fledged sobbing breakdown in front of both Bellamy and her customers.

They close at 2 PM as advertised, and then head home to get ready for Octavia and Lincoln’s rehearsal dinner.She let’s Bellamy have the bathroom first so he can shower, and she takes that time to lay her dress out, and iron his button down shirt.Suitcases are never kind to formal clothes, and Clarke is a good friend.She can’t have him showing up wrinkly at all this weekend, no matter how much she loves his usual, somewhat rumpled look.She takes the freshly pressed shirt off the ironing board when she hears him come out of the bathroom, but she stops short when she enters the living room.

He’s standing over his open suitcase in nothing but a towel, water droplets dusting his shoulders, hair still damp.It’s enough to make her whole body go hot.

“Uh, I—shirt,” she says, thrusting her outstretched arm toward him.

“Sorry,” he says.“I forgot my pants out here, I thought you were, uh,” he gestures toward her room.

She rolls her eyes.“It’s fine.It’s not like I’ve never seen you without a shirt.I was just…surprised.”

He smiles, and takes the shirt. “Thanks for this.”

“No problem.”She lingers for a minute, staring, before coming back to herself.“I’m just gonna,” she says, and now she’s gesturing toward her room.

“Yeah, we should both probably get dressed.We have to leave in like, 30 minutes.”

Clarke nods and turns on her heal, heading back to her room.Awkward…why is she so awkward?Fuck, she really _is_ bad at this.

It only gets more awkward when she’s zipping up her dress and the zipper gets stuck half way up.

“Bellamy!”

He’s in her doorway two seconds later, fully dressed in his dress pants and white button down.He’s got the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and Jesus, this is not fair.“Yeah?”

She huffs a laugh.“Help?”And then she turns around, presenting him with her stuck zipper and a back of exposed skin.“It’s stuck, and I can’t reach.”The breath he takes at seeing her is very audible, and she’s glad her back is to him because she has to bite her lip to keep from grinning.

She feels it the moment he’s behind her, warmth radiating off his body, and his left hand coming up to grasp onto her waist while the right takes care of the zipper.He’s slow, deliberate, his knuckle brushing against her spine as first he lowers it, unzipping to clear the snag, and Clarke wonders if this is what it could be like later, after she’s told him about the book.If they’ll come back here and he’ll undress her just like this and he’ll trail his lips after his fingers and touch her everywhere.The zipper reaches the bottom and then he begins to pull it back up and Clarke is almost disappointed because naked sounds so much better right now.Even though he’s zipping her up, he’s still running his knuckle up her spine and she shivers, it feels so good.

“Done,” he says, reaching the top, and it’s a strangled whisper and pretty much one of the best sounds she's ever heard.

“Thanks,” she says, turning to face him.She can’t quite look at him yet, so she reaches up to straighten his tie and then takes a step back.“You about ready to go?”

“Mmhm,” he nods, and she can’t help notice he’s staring.The dress really is something, pale pink and almost floor length, it’s draped in a way that clearly makes her look like a greek goddess.She picked it out because she thought it was beautiful and it hugged her in all the right places, but now she’s pretty sure she also subconsciously picked it with Bellamy in mind.She really hopes she looks like something straight out of his fantasies.

“Great, let’s go!”She grabs her bag from her dresser and they make their way out of the bedroom and out the front door.

—

Everything at the rehearsal goes smoothly.They all practice walking down the aisle, Raven with Lincoln’s friend Nyko, and then Clarke with Bellamy because they are respectively the maid of honor and best man.Then Octavia walks down the aisle alone because she wants to give herself away.It’s all very beautiful and Clarke can only imagine how much more beautiful it’ll be tomorrow night in front of the rest of their friends and family with the music, the twinkly Christmas lights, the even more formal, formal wear.She kind of can’t wait to see Bellamy in a full tuxedo.

Lincoln and Octavia practice the vows part without actually reciting the vows they wrote for each other, and then they kiss, and then it’s over and they’re all walking back down the aisle and heading out of the chapel and over to the restaurant.The food is delicious and there’s champagne and a piano player and a dance floor, and yeah, Octavia picked a really fancy place for dinner.

They drink and they laugh and they dance and it’s wonderful.Clarke will take basically any excuse to get Bellamy’s arms around her, so the slow, melodic rhythm coming from the piano song after song is more than welcome.

Around eleven they realize that they’re the last group in the restaurant so they pay up and leave.The uber back to her apartment is quiet, but Clarke can feel the shift between them.They sit in the back, huddled close.She leans her head on Bellamy’s shoulder and she feels him kiss her hair before resting his chin on the top of her head.She wants to hold his hand, so she does.

She must doze off for a minute, because the next thing she knows, Bellamy is nudging her awake and helping her out of the car.He leads her to the elevator and up to her apartment, taking the key from her purse to let them in.She leans on him the whole time, still a little drowsy.

“You okay?” he asks.

“Mmm.Just tired.”

“Let’s get you to bed, then.Big day tomorrow.”

When they get to her bedroom, she crashes down onto the bed, flat on her back, bouncing a little and laughing.

Bellamy chuckles.“Still okay?”

And yeah, she is.She’s great.He’s here, looking at her with a fond look on his face, and she wants him to stay. She loves him so fucking much, and she just wants him to know.

Clarke reaches up to grab his wrist, pulling him down to sit next to her.“Stay,” she whispers.“Please.”

“Clarke,” he rasps. 

“Stay forever, Bellamy.”

“You’re drunk.”

“No,” she says.“I had two glasses of champagne, and a lot of pasta.I am nowhere near drunk.”

“Clarke—”

“It’s us.”

“What?”

She rubs a hand over her face.“Fuck, this already isn’t coming out right.”

“Princess—”

“I lied to you earlier.”

“Wait, wh—are you sure you’re not drunk?”

She shakes her head, reaches up, cups his cheek.“The book.I _did_ read the whole thing last night, and…you wrote us.And I loved it, and I just want you, and I want you to stay.Please, Bell, please stay.”

He sighs, like a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders.Leaning down, their noses brush, and his eyes close.“I love you so much, Clarke.”

She laughs.“Yeah, I got that.”And then they’re kissing.Finally, _finally_ , they’re kissing, and maybe she initially wanted to be a little more eloquent in telling him, but this seemed to work pretty well too.He feels perfect and he tastes perfect, but that’s not really a surprise because he’s Bellamy, and to her he’s always been, well, maybe not perfect but pretty fucking close.

His lips trail to her neck and finally the words leave her mouth.“I love you too, Bellamy.So much, and there’s no one else I would want to face the end of the world with either.”

He pauses, just for a moment and then leans back up to press a lingering kiss to her mouth.“It wasn’t supposed to be us.It just—when I write, a voice usually comes through for each of the characters and I was writing Olivia and it was you.I kept hearing your voice, and maybe it was because I was missing you so badly, but it just happened.They evolved into versions of us, and yeah, that’s really fucking meta, but I guess it’s true to write what you know, because everything started to flow so much easier.”

“You knew where you wanted it to end.”

He nods.“I knew where I wanted it to end.”

“With us at the end of the world?”

He shakes his head.“No.With us together.”

She kisses him again, and again, and again, undoing the buttons on his shirt as she goes, exposing perfectly muscled golden skin.His hands slide under her back and pull her up and into his lap and Clarke breaks the kiss for just a moment to rest her forehead on his collarbone.She just needs a moment.To remember everything.To comprehend that this is really happening.

Bellamy’s hand drags up her back to the nape of her neck and he rubs softly.“What are you doing?” he asks.

“Thanking God,” she chuckles, because she's never been religious but, tis the season and this moment just really feels like one to rejoice in.

“Jesus,” he laughs.

“Him too.”

Clarke lifts her head to look at him.Hair rumpled and lips looking thoroughly kissed, he’s pretty much the most beautiful thing ever.“I really, really love you,” she whispers.

He smiles.“Yeah, I got that,” he says, repeating her words.And then his hands move back to her waist and the zipper of her dress, just like earlier, only this time they’re facing each other as he drags the zipper down slowly, fingers teasing along the way.“I hope you know you’ve been driving me crazy all night with this dress.Making me zip it up when all I wanted was to rip it off.”

“That was kind of the point, yeah.”She kisses him again, quick and dirty, bouncing a little on his lap and making him groan. 

“Fuck, Clarke, you are seriously going to kill me here.”

“Mmm,” she moans, kissing his cheek, trailing her lips to his ear.“You’re not allowed to die.You haven’t fucked me yet.”

Her words seem to really get him going, because the next thing she knows, she’s on her back once more and he’s (carefully) ripping the dress from her body.She has to giggle just a little when it gets tangled around her legs, and she works with him to kick it the rest of the way off.She’s left in nothing but her underwear.The dress had hugged her breasts like a glove, giving them just enough lift that she’d forgone a bra.

Bellamy just stares, a look of awestruck wonder on his face before his head drops down to restagainst the valley of her breasts.“Now _I_ need a minute,” he says, voice muffled against her skin. 

Clarke grins and brings her hand up, threads her fingers though his hair.She strokes back and forth for a minute before she speaks.“You good?”

“Yeah,” he says, leaning up to kiss her.

“Good.You should take your pants off.”

He nods and moves to remove the rest of his clothes.“Smart.I knew there was a reason I loved you.”

There’s not much more talking once he’s hovering above her again, only the sound of lips against skin and breathy moans and the two of them finally coming together.

It’s fast and slow, hot and heavy, it’s perfect and incredible and better than she could have everimagined, which is really saying something because Clarke likes to think she has a pretty good imagination, especially when it comes to Bellamy and his hands and his mouth and his everything.

She’s become accustomed to getting herself off thinking about him, but never, ever, ever have her hands felt anywhere close to as good as his.It’s over too fast, which doesn’t surprise Clarke on her part.It’s been a long time since she’s had any attention from someone other than herself, and while she’d like to go again and again, she’s pretty exhausted after not sleeping the night before and then working part of the day.And with tomorrow being the wedding, she’s gotta get _some_ sleep.

“Sorry,” he chuckles, pressing quick kisses to her neck.“I—fuck, that should have lasted longer, I just—it’s been a really long time and you’re pretty much all I’ve ever wanted, Clarke, so.”

She laughs and combs her fingers through his hair. “I didn’t really last long myself.It’s been a while for me too, and I’ve kind of been dreaming about this for years, and finally having you touch me just made everything… _more_.”

He’s still hovering over her, his weight pressing her into the mattress so she feels every bit of him stir against her.“Years?” he asks.

“Yeah,” she nods, and kisses him, soft and lazy.“Years.”

Their noses brush as his lips trail blazing hot across her cheek and to her ear.“So you’ve spent years thinking about me doing this to you?Did you touch yourself, Clarke, when you thought about me?”She whimpers at his words and the feeling of him sliding back inside, filling her completely, making her heart feel whole for the first time in her life.

“Yes,” she whispers.“Fuck, yes, Bellamy.”

She feels him smile against her neck and pick up his pace, moving in, out, in, faster and faster until she’s exploding beneath him once more, breathless and boneless and loved.

She kisses him hard before she picks up her own pace, moving with him, coaxing him into his own orgasm.He collapses on top of her and she holds him tightly, not wanting to let go, fingers trailing up and down his spine.Maybe round two wasn't such a bad idea after all.Who the hell needs sleep when there’s a naked Bellamy Blake just waiting to be explored.

—

In the morning Clarke wakes to soft kisses on her shoulder and fingers dancing across her belly,drifting lower and lower.He makes her come with his fingers before rolling her over and kissing her soundly.

“Good morning,” Bellamy rasps, and yes, it is a good morning indeed.It’s basically the kind of morning Clarke wants everyday for the rest of her life.

She kisses him once, twice, three times, before looking at the clock on her bedside table and groaning.“We have to be at the chapel to get ready in an hour.”

“Guess we better shower quick them, huh?” he smirks, and she rolls her eyes and shoves his shoulder before crawling over him and out of bed.She can feel his eyes on her naked form the whole way to the bathroom.

She turns the shower on and when he still hasn’t joined her, she sticks her head back in the bedroom doorframe.“Well?Are you coming?”Bellamy is out of the bed and across the room in about 1.2 seconds, and Clarke laughs as he frames her face and kisses her all the way back into the bathroom.

They stand under the warm spray of the shower for a solid two minutes, just holding each other, reveling in what they’ve finally become.Clarke kisses his collarbone before pulling away and turning around, handing him her shampoo bottle as she goes.“So, obviously we have to tell your sister about this.”

Bellamy snorts, lathering his hands with the shampoo before delving into Clarke’s hair, massaging gently.“This, specifically?”

She rolls her eyes even though she knows he can’t see.“No.Just, about us.I’m pretty sure she’s been waiting for something to happen between us for a while now too.She basically told me the other day we were both being stupid and someone needed to make a move.”

“Yeah, she’s been telling me that for years.” He leans down, places a kiss at the base of Clarke’s neck.“I wanna tell everyone as soon as possible, I just don’t want to like, steal her thunder.It’s bad enough she’s sharing her wedding with Christmas weekend.”

“Yeah,” Clarke says, turning back around and backing up under the water to rinse the shampoo.“But weddings are romantic and I love you and I’d really like to be able to kiss my boyfriend tonight in public, instead of sneaking off somewhere and then having to come up with an excuse when we’re inevitably asked where we wandered off to.”

Clarke takes the shampoo back once she’s finished rinsing her hair, and lathers her own hands before reaching up and scrubbing Bellamy’s curls, scraping lightly at his scalp, smirking every time he shivers.“Yeah, I want that too,” he says, eyes closed and a little distracted.

“Then it’s settled.We’ll tell her before the ceremony, and then it won’t be such a big deal at the reception.”

“Mmhmm,” he mumbles as Clarke’s fingers continue their ministrations down the back of his neck.His head and neck basically go boneless from the massage, drooping until his forehead rests on her shoulder and he has to grab her hips to steady himself. 

She giggles, just a little, and turns her head, lips grazing his ear.“Good talk.”

—-

When they finally make it to the chapel, they head straight for Octavia’s dressing room.She’s standing in the middle of the room, hair and makeup already done, in her fluffy bride robe and admiring her gown, draped across it’s dress form.

“Hey,” Clarke says, entering the room, Bellamy on her heels.“Sorry we’re late.”

“Finally,” Octavia grumbles.“I just sent Raven next door for hair and makeup.Get your robe on, you’re next.”

Clarke nods, and tosses her bag down on a nearby chair before shrugging out of her coat.She’s giddy and nervous.She wants this to go perfectly and not ruin anything.It’s still Octavia’s day, no matter how high on happiness Clarke feels right now.

“O,” Bellamy says.“You look beautiful.”

“Duh,” Octavia says, smiling.“But what are you doing here, Bell?The guys are down the hall.”

He nods.“Yeah, I just wanted to see you.Also, Clarke and I wanted to talk to you about—”

“Bellamy and I had sex last night,” Clarke blurts out, immediately realizing that was not quite the tactful way she intended to deliver the news that she and Bellamy are together.Her hand covers her mouth and she pauses.She looks at Bellamy, sees he’s got his head cocked, and he’s making a weird squinty face. 

Yeah, definitely not how she meant to say it.

Octavia’s eyes are wide, darting back and forth between the two of them.

“I think what Clarke meant to say, is that we talked, and we love each other, and we’re together,” Bellamy says.“And we wanted you to be the first to know because we also love you, and didn’t want to make a big deal out this on your day.”

Clarke nods her head, agreeing.

Octavia looks back and forth between them one more time before bursting into laughter.“Oh my God, fucking finally.Raven and Miller totally owe me like fifty bucks.”

“Wait, what?” Clarke asks.

“I mean, I’ll have to check the spreadsheet to see which one of them owes me more, but I definitely bet on the rehearsal dinner.Miller thought you’d hold out for the wedding, it’s more romantic, and Raven thought you two were just gonna go at it in the airport, but I saw that dress you were planning on wearing Clarke, and that dress was ridiculous.”

“You guys bet on us?” Bellamy asks.

“We had to make it interesting.You two certainly weren’t, pinning for each other 3000 miles apart.You haven’t seen each other in a year.We were about 99 percent sure something was gonna finally happen.”

Bellamy huffs a laugh.“Yeah, alright.I guess I should go get ready with the guys.”He hugs his sister, kisses her forehead, and then moves to Clarke.“See you out there?”She smiles and nods, kisses him goodbye.

“Yeah, see you out there.”When Bellamy’s gone, Clarke turns back to Octavia, who has the most wicked smirk on her face.

“Guess you didn’t need the couch bed after all.”

“Oh shut up,” Clarke grumbles.

Octavia cackles.

—-

They’re dancing at the reception when he brings it up.

“So, I think we should figure out the logistics.”

“Mmm, sexy,” Clarke jokes.“Keep talking, I’m getting super turned on.”He chuckles, pulls her closer.“Really, though,” she says.“Logistics.What are you thinking?”

“My lease in L.A. is up in a month, and I was already planning on moving back home.You wanna help me look for an apartment?”Clarke’s body tenses, and Bellamy must feel it because he pulls back to look at her.“What’s wrong?” he asks, hand running through her hair, tucking a few strands behind her ear.

She’s thrilled he’s going to move back permanently.Figured he would, not just because of what happened between them the night before, but because this is his _home_.Here, with her.And his sister.And Raven and Harper and Monty and Miller.It is however, because of the night before that she also kinda figured he’d maybe just move in with her.It doesn’t matter that they’ve been together romantically for less than 24 hours.They’ve been together, belonged to each other in all other aspects, for 17 years.She knows what she’s getting into with him, and she assumed he felt the same.

“Nothing,” she says quietly.“I just thought…last night I asked you to stay forever,” she says, a tiny, hesitant smile on her face.“Kinda figured you already had an apartment.Mine,” she shrugs.“Unless you want your own space, in which case you should do whatever you want and—”he cuts her off with a searing kiss.

“I wanna be wherever you are,” he murmurs.“I want to share your space, and make our own space together.”He kisses her again.“I want to sit on the couch together every night for the rest of forever and yell at historically inaccurate documentaries and laugh at stupid comedies and just _be_ with you, Clarke.”

She lets out a watery laugh and swipes at her eyes.“You better not be proposing to me at your sister’s wedding, Bellamy.That’s just _too_ much thunder stealing.”

“I am proposing,” he pauses, and she shoves his shoulder gently.“That we find a new apartment together.For both of us.Maybe something a little bigger, that we can grow into.Because I want to live with you, in case that wasn’t clear.I just didn’t want to push you into it so soon after last night.I’m pretty much ready for any and everything with you, Clarke.Just wanted to make sure we were on the same page.”

She laughs again and kisses him.“Yeah,” she says.“Me too.We’re definitely on the same page.”

—-

Two days after the wedding, Octavia and Lincoln head off on their honeymoon and Bellamy and Clarke fly out to L.A. to start packing up Bellamy’s apartment.Clarke figures out pretty quickly that L.A. is nice.It’s sunny and warm and the people seem pretty laid back, but it’s nothing like the quaintness of Arkadia, New York.She’s been gone for a day and she already misses her homey little town, and her bookstore, and her regular, grumpy customers.Knowing that Bellamy has always loved home, she can’t even imagine how the last year felt for him.

They’re loading boxes of his clothes and books into the back of a moving truck when a voice calls down from a window above.

“Leaving us so soon, Bellamy?”

Bellamy glances up at the person in the window before turning back to Clarke with a grimace.“Oh shit,” he whispers.

Clarke peers up at the window and sees a girl leaning out, knifelike smile on her face.“You know her?” she asks.

“She’s my neighbor,” he says.“Echo.”

“Did you guys ever…” she trails off, and Bellamy’s eyes widen in what Clarke can only described as a look of sheer terror.

“Fuck no,” he says.“Aside from the fact that I’ve basically been pining for you most of my life, she’s fucking terrifying, Clarke.Our bedrooms share one very thin wall and I’ve heard things that can’t be unheard.”

Clarke snorts.“Maybe she was trying to get you to come over and join in.She looks pretty hot from here.”

“Hmm, well when you put it that way...” He trails off, and Clarke gives him a gentle shove.“Yeah, still not interested.” Bellamy says, grinning big and goofy.He’s wearing his glasses and a Marvel t-shirt and his hair is messy and he is such a nerd, Clarke loves him so much.She kisses him quick, picks up and another box, and deposits it in the back of the truck.Bellamy turns back to the window and waves at Echo.He may not have ever been interested, but he’s also not rude.

“Hey Echo,” he says.“Yeah, I’m done with my research and I’m moving back home to be with my girlfriend.”

Clarke’s never heard words so sweet.

—-

When they get back home to Arkadia, Bellamy moves his most essential things into Clarke’s apartment and puts the rest of his stuff in storage until they find a bigger space to share.It’s a tight fit, her little one bedroom, but it’s cozy and quaint and home.Clarke is just happy they’re together, and she tells him as much.

“I’m so glad you’re home,” she says, as they settle onto the couch, and Bellamy kisses her, agreeing.“You are never leaving for that long again.”

He laughs.“You know I have a book tour to do in about six months when this thing comes out, right?”

“I know,” she says.“But it won’t be more than a few weeks, and after a year apart I think I can handle that much.”

“Or,” he says.“You could maybe just come with me?”

“Yeah?”

He nods.”Yeah.I’d kinda miss your face and stuff.”

She beams, kisses him quick.“Ok.I guess I’d miss your face and stuff too.”

Six months later, on the _Odyssey_ release date, they celebrate at The Book Drop surrounded by friends and family and readers.Bellamy answers questions from the small audience seated in front of him, and when one young girl asks him if any of the work was inspired by his life, he chuckles.He looks to Clarke, standing at the back of the crowd looking warm, loving, proud. 

_His._

He smiles.“Yeah, you could say that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, you're all too wonderful for words!


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